I attended the Journalism Career Fair at the Stamp Student on October 20th. While I must say that I was intimidated by the upperclassmen that were there, I felt that I gained some good professional experience that will help me in my career as a journalist. So as I walked in the ballroom with my blue corduroy khakis, my navy blue blazer, and a folder full of resumes, I saw for the first time how important communication skills are in the journalism field. I looked to my left, and there was a booth set up for WJZ, the local news in my hometown. The lead anchors were interviewing prospective students looking for internships. I looked to my right, and there was a booth for USA Today. I could tell that the people that were getting interviewed were not only upperclassmen, but upperclassmen with more experience than I had. I wandered aimlessly around the ballroom, where I felt like people could tell I was a freshmen. After not seeing anyone I knew and realizing my resume was not as strong as the other candidates, I went outside and asked where the discussion panels were being held. I figured I could at least get some first hand knowledge from some journalists in the field. I walked down the hall and up the stairs, hoping that I can get something out of this experience.
The discussion panels that were being held on the 2nd floor were not very interesting to me, and I thought that it would be better if I just left. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a small sign outside of a room. I couldn't make out the entire sign, but I could see two words; Sports Journalists. I rushed over in excitement, signed the attendance sheet, and although I was a few minutes late, I sat down in the back next to a kid with brown hair, a red shirt, and a black jacket. For the next half hour, I listened to the great George Solomon and the panel of recent UMD graduates talk about their careers in journalism.
One thing that was emphasized during the panel was that you have to use networking to your advantage. They all said the Mr. Solomon gave them their first jobs, as he was able to get in touch with people on behalf of his former students. While they all had various jobs from running their own news show to working for SB Nation, they all offered one piece of advice; be patient and persistent. One of the panelists said they lost count of how many resumes they sent out after 120. I knew that if I was going to be a journalist, I had to accept that there may not be many opportunities for jobs, and that I had to use my networking and communication skills to succeed in the business.
The man that was sitting next to me asked a panelist a question, and I later found that he had interned for one of the panelists. I was thinking that I would be really nervous approaching one of these panelists on my own, so after the panel was over, I introduced myself to man sitting next to me. His name was Alex, and he is a junior at UMD and a writer for the Testudo Times. After chatting about baseball, I asked what it was like to intern for Pete Volk, who was one of the panelists. He said that he enjoyed the experience, and offered to introduce me to him. I introduced myself to Pete and shook his hand, and said I would be interested in interning for him. I handed him my resume, and he told me he would email me that night about whether I could write for the Testudo Times. Within two hours, I got an email from him, and I am now currently in the process of becoming a writer for the Testudo Times.
So after walking in feeling like I could never be able hand my resume to anyone and having them be interested in me, I came out of the Career Fair with an internship opportunity in my hands. A stroke of luck for me really; If I hadn't been sitting next to Alex, I would have never been able to get my internship. Funny the way things work, isn't it? So what I learned is that if you are able to network, have good communication skills, and show some initiative, you can be successful. Overall, I felt that the Career Fair was a great experience for me, and the experience will help me with my career in the future.
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